Urchin and the Rage Tide
Description Urchin and the Rage Tide is a fantasy novel, written by English author M. I. McAllister, and published in 2010. It is the fifth book in McAllister's series The Mistmantle Chronicles, and continues the story of the anthropomorphic animals that live on the fictional island of Mistmantle. Under the wise guidance of King Crispin, the animals of Mistmantle have enjoyed a long period of peace since the violent Raven War. Their tranquility is disrupted when a series of tidal waves—a rage tide—threatens to destroy the island. The inhabitants must quickly move to higher ground to avoid the devastation. But Mossberry, an influential squirrel with delusions of power, sees the impending disaster as an opportunity, and his reckless actions will put many animals in harm's way... Reader's Reviews 1 When an author continues a series beyond three books, a certain predictability almost always starts to pervade the pages of the story, and unfortunately Urchin and the Rage Tide—book 5 in M. I. McAllister's The Mistmantle Chronicles—falls right into that category. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but on the other hand, there's nothing particularly wonderful either. While the first and second books of the series were different enough to similar fantasy tales to make them exciting, the latter books have slipped into a familiar pattern. While reading Rage Tide, only one event really surprised me; the rest I could have predicted after a few pages. To be fair to M. I. McAllister, Brian Jacques' Redwall series has suffered the same fate, with its 23 books; the plot is just copied and pasted, with characters' names and locations changed. While Rage Tide isn't quite as bad as that, it's just not exciting enough to really hold the reader's attention. There's a lack of imagination in the plot, and when the only villains are the weather and an insane squirrel, who's more pitiable than hateful, you know the series is going downhill. While it starts to redeem itself towards the end, it's all a bit boring, which is a shame considering the bright start that the series had. If you're a fantasy-lover, or young enough to not predict the book's events, you'll enjoy it. But the rest of us will only see that with this one, McAllister's spark has been swept away by the Rage Tide. 4/10 2 Please add your review here. Parental Guidance *Reading Age: 11+ *Reading Aloud Age: 10+ All the creatures on Mistmantle believe in "The Heart". This is some sort of "god" that takes "care" of Mistmantle. It is a deeply loving "god", but does not control the animals in any way. A prophecy is received from The Heart, which plays a crucial theme in the book. Setting *Ashfire *Mistmantle **Anemone Wood **Arder Bay **Falls Cliffs **Main Gate **Mistmantle Tower ***Chamber of Candles ***Gathering Chamber ***priest's chamber ***Throne Room **Mole Palace **Sepia's Song Cave **Spring Gate **Sword Point **Watchtop Hill *Swan Isle **princess's grave *Whitewings **House of the Marked Squirrel Characters *The Heart Hedgehogs *Docken *Furtle *Hedgen *Hope *Huggen *Queen Larch *Mopple *Morrow *Myrtle *Needle *Pottle *Quickpaw *Ruffle *Scufflen *Scuttle *King Silverbirch *Spirtle (Ouch) *Thripple Moles *Lady Cott *Captain Lugg *Moth *Spade *Tipp *Todd *Wing *Wren Otters *Arran *Corr (Corr the Voyager) *Fingal (Fingal of the Floods) *Fionn *Padra *Swanfeather *Tay *Tide Squirrels *Almond *Princess Almondflower *Apple *Princess Catkin *Brother Candle *Queen Cedar *Cherry *Crackle *Crispin (Captain Crispin, King Crispin, Crispin the Swanrider) *Curltail *Damson *Filbert *Brother Fir *Grain *Heath *Husk *Juniper (Brother Juniper, Juniper of the Journeyings) *Linty *Mossberry *Prince Oakleaf *Pitter *Russet *Scatter *Sepia (Sepia of the Songs) *Twirl *Urchin (Urchin of the Riding Stars) *Whisper *Whittle *Yarrow Unmentioned Species/Other Species *King Acorn *Lord Arcneck-swan *Crown (Prince Crown, Lord Crown)-swan *Daisy *Maple *Meadow *Pepper *Shell Trivia Mossberry Game As Mossberry was ranting while locked in a cell, the guards watching over him decided to end their boredom by playing a game. During each watch, the guard would get points for whatever Mossberry said, and then they would see who got the most points. *Every time Mossberry says "freedom", that is two points toward the score. *Every time Mossberry says "calamity", that is four points toward the score. *Every time Mossberry says "death to all tyrants", that is six points toward the score. Prophecy "One must come and one must go, One must go and one will come, There must be sorrow before joy." Brother Juniper Threadings Code If you like this you might like *The rest of the books in The Mistmantle Chronicles. *Brian Jacques' Redwall series. Category:The Mistmantle Chronicles Category:Age 10 Category:Age 11 Category:Age 12 Category:Age 13 Category:Age 14 Category:Fantasy Category:Talking Animals Category:2010